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It is hard to not recognise the levels of surprise, shock, and dismay that accompanied the release of the Apple iPhone 6S Smart Battery Case. The ugly case was at best a weak solution to the battery life of the iPhone 6S that failed to meet the high expectations placed on Apple by the world's geekerati.

Speaking to Mashable's Lance Ulanoff, Cook attempted to change the narrative that has built up around the case. There was no mention of it being a beautiful design, the assumption was the case would only be on an iPhone intermittently, and the battery life of a vanilla iPhone 6S is still good enough for Apple's CEO.

One term was settled thanks to the interview. We're all going to be calling the pregnant-like bulge that holds the battery 'The Hump'. Why? Because Tim Cook said "I probably wouldn't call it 'the hump'." If there's one thing going to offer consensus around what to call the protuberance, it's Apple's CEO saying 'the hump' the same sentence as its description.

Hump it is, then.

Apple iPhone Smart Battery Case (image: Apple.com)

The silicon case can be peeled back to remove the iPhone from the Smart Case, solving the problem of users having difficulty removing their iPhone 6S from a case, which is seemingly the case with other cases. I'll be honest here, I'm not sure how many people have a problem with a snug case. In fact, I'd rather have a snug case than a millimeter or two of rattle.

Unspoken in the interview, but speculated elsewhere, is the idea that the bendable deconstruction and awkward battery hump is Apple avoiding the patents held by third-party battery case manufacturers such as Mophie (Chris Smith has more thoughts on this angle at BGR).

Apple iPhone Smart Battery Case (image: Apple.com)

What I find amazing is the idea that Cook thinks the Smart Battery Case would only be used intermittently. "If you're charging your phone every day, you probably don't need this at all."

Who's got an iPhone 6S and doesn't charge it up during the day? Who has an iPhone 6S and thinks that the battery capacity is sufficient to get through a full day? The iPhone 6S's battery is too small, and it requires help, be it a top-up charge, a portable USB battery, or a battery case. Ask anyone who used the iPhone 6S in anger and they will want more battery life. Apple offering the Smart Battery Case acknowledges this issue... but it feels like Cook won't agree with this statement.

As the interview closed, Cook and VP of Software Engineering Cheryl Thomas pitched in with what was likely the key marketing slogan Apple used in the development of the case... "When you need it, you need it."

The problem is, most people need a top-up of battery charge as they approach the end of the working day. And those that don't top up, who run the battery down to empty each evening, will never know when serendipity will see them having to spend a few more hours at work, going out for a few extra drinks at night, or called away at short notice to spend three days in Geneva. You can't predict when you'll need a battery case in advance.

Maybe in the ivory world of Cupertino you can ask Siri each morning if your battery will last through the day and decide if you need a battery case or not. In the real world, you don't know when you wake up, so you'll always need it on your iPhone or it's a wasted $99 purchase. Which means the majority of users will have the ugly case on all the time, the design point of easy removal of the case becomes moot, and everyone will grumble over the MacGyvered solution to the iPhone 6S battery issue that Apple believes does not exist.

One final thought. Setting up an interview after a product launch, having to explain the thinking of a point of design that was not clear, and having to react to criticisms rather than offer the answers before the question is asked... This launch is a rare mistake by Apple's PR team. It has lost control of the story, and is having to set up some big-hitting interviews to try to return the story arc toward something more favourable to Cupertino.